The Arts at JMU

DanceWorks Chicago is a contemporary dance company who performs a diverse repertoire to audiences across the globe with integrity, passion and excellence. This year’s festival features new works by DanceWorks Chicago, including Purigado, choreographed by CVPA Dean Rubén Graciani. JMU dance majors will perform with the company in a piece choreographed by New York City-based dance artist Jess Hendricks. More

For more than 40 years, Mountain Stage has been the home of live music on public radio. Recorded in front of a live audience, this event features three world-renowned headliners (and more guests TBA) including Ireland’s folk and traditional music legend Karan Casey, the U.K.-based retro-inspired rock band The Heavy Heavy, and Nashville-based Nigerian American singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun. More

The current cast members of the Emmy-nominated television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? are proud to present their new improv tour Whose Live Anyway? The show is 90 minutes of hilarious improvised comedy and song, all based on audience suggestions, featuring Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis and Joel Murray. More

The American family takes center stage in this haunting and humorous work by rising playwright Stephen Karam. Winner of the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play, The Humans is “truly remarkable and exceptionally moving…a play about the horrors of ordinary life, and the love we need to counter them.” (Chicago Tribune) Features students from JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance. More

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Chilean-born Melissa Aldana is a Grammy-nominated saxophonist and composer whose playing has “an austere beauty,” with Aldana “as persuasive with long-lined phrases as with a flurry of fast-flying notes.” (Chicago Tribune) Aldana, who released the album 12 Stars in March 2022, will perform a program of jazz standards with members of the Madison Jazz Collective. A CVPA Cultural Connections Artist-in-Residence Event. More

Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world’s foremost string quartets, and for 40 years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Mexico: A Musical Journey will explore the thematic intersections between music and art in Mexican history from the Aztecs to the modern day. This package offer includes a ticket to Cuarteto Latinoamericano plus a curated talk about the magnificent Mexican art housed in JMU’s Madison Art Collection by director Ginny Soenksen with a Q&A and pre-concert reception. More

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With “vital, fresh, imaginative music and sensitive, brilliant performances,” (The Washington Post) Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world’s foremost string quartets, and for 40 years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Mexico: A Musical Journey will explore the thematic intersections between music and art in Mexican history from the Aztecs to the modern day, with pieces by composers like Chávez, Ponce and Revueltas. More

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This lively cocktail reception is followed by a curated talk and exclusive tour of the Savoring the Moon exhibition by Ginny Soenksen, director of JMU’s Madison Art Collection and Lisanby Museum. Savoring the Moon: Japanese Art of the Floating World highlights the Madison Art Collection’s impressive Japanese paintings and woodblock prints in the ukiyo-e style. Event is 6:30-8 pm and is capped at 30 guests. More

Featuring seven of London’s leading players, Septura is “brass playing at its most exalted,” (Fanfare) captivating audiences with its transformative repertoire and sound that is “irresistible.” (The Observer) This rousing concert features the work of four early 20th-century composers—Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Edward Elgar and Gerald Finzi—who helped to define American and British music. More

Celebrate 25 years of Rent with songs like “Seasons of Love” and “One Song Glory” in this pulsating production featuring students from JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance and School of Music! This Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical follows a year in the life of a group of bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling to survive and create amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis. More

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Based in England, Tenebrae is hailed as “one of the best choirs in the world.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Medieval chant and Renaissance works are interspersed with contemporary compositions to create an ethereal atmosphere of spiritual and musical reflection. More

This neoclassical operatic gem by celebrated composer Igor Stravinsky features music that is some of his “most ingenious.” (The New York Times). The 1951 English opera is based on a series of 18th-century paintings by William Hogarth that depict the hellish rise and fall of the merchant and heir Tom Rakewell, a young man to whom it all comes too easily—and the inevitable price he has to pay. More

Presented by the Forbes Center in partnership with WMRA radio, this exciting showcase returns to the lineup with five singer-songwriters from the Shenandoah Valley! Experience a heartfelt evening hosted by Tina Owens from WMRA’s The Acoustic Café about the personal journeys singer-songwriters embark on when creating new works. Sponsored by Cross Keys Studio in Port Republic, Virginia. More

Vibrant and inspirational, the three-time Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa returns to the Forbes Center to sing, dance and drum in this tour-de-force performance! In this concert of hope and joy featuring music of South Africa’s Freedom Movement and the American Civil Rights Movement, the Soweto Gospel Choir will perform African gospel, spirituals and freedom songs by artists and activists including Aretha Franklin, Mahlia Jackson, Harry Belafonte, and more. More

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JMU’s premier dance ensemble will perform work by guest artists from across the country and award-winning dance faculty members. More

Join JMU’s music ensembles for an inspired Christmas collage of holiday works for choirs and orchestra! Also featured is a holiday reading by a local Harrisonburg celebrity. Get your tickets early to this Forbes Center favorite! Check back for programming updates. More

Arts and cultures from around the world take center stage in this all-day, multi-performance celebration in partnership with the Harrisonburg International Festival that features a diverse array of local performers, including international bands, solo singers and choirs, and instrumentalists. Check back for show times and prices for in-person and FORBES CENTER @ HOME streaming options. More

Cherokee actor and activist DeLanna Studi embarked on a six-week, 900-mile journey with her father along the Trail of Tears to retrace the path her great-great-grandparents took during the forced relocation of 17,000 Cherokee from their homelands in the 1830s. The result: her memoir and critically-acclaimed solo play AND SO WE WALKED. More

This effervescent musical theatre revue features JMU musical theatre students performing songs you know and love from your favorite Disney, Pixar, and other classic family movies. This one-hour “Forbes Family Fun” show is perfect for audiences of all ages. A 2 pm Sensory-Friendly Performance is being offered in partnership with JMU’s Office of Disability Services. More

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Founded in 1902, the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine is one of that nation’s largest and most internationally-known ensembles. This epic concert includes Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 featuring Ukrainian violin soloist Vladyslava Luchenko; Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 featuring Ukrainian American piano soloist Stanislav Khristenko; and Dvořák’s “From the New World” Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95. More

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This lively cocktail reception is followed by a curated talk and exclusive tour of the Both Sides of the River exhibition by Beth Hinderliter, director of JMU’s Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art. Bringing together artists from varying backgrounds and diverse perspectives, Both Sides of the River fosters conversations on the relation of art, decolonial ecology and environmental stewardship. Event is 6:30-8 pm and is capped at 50 guests. More

Piano virtuoso and recording artist Awadagin Pratt has attracted audiences to classical music around the world in his 30-year career that includes three performances at The White House. Pratt will display his “enormous dynamic range… [encompassing] grave quiet to immense thunder” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer) in an exciting program featuring Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor; Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4; Chopin’s Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1; and more! More

This “wildly-entertaining” (New York Daily News) musical showstopper features sizzling songs, dazzling dance numbers and a tantalizing tabloid tale! With a sassy score and Fosse-inspired jazz dance style, Chicago won six Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical. This razzle-dazzle smash hit features students in JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance and School of Music. More

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Today’s hottest rising stars in jazz music perform Songs We Love, a journey through the first 50 years of jazz song under the musical direction of acclaimed trumpeter Riley Mulherkar. In this uplifting concert, vocal virtuosos Vuyo Sotashe, Brianna Thomas and Shenel Johns join an all-star band to sing their way through decades of music, from 1920 to the early 1960s—featuring songs made popular by Ma Railey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and more! More

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Direct from Sydney Opera House, Meeting Mozart follows the journey of the mischievous musical wunderkind, his wife and muse Constanze, and a string quartet to discover some of his best-known and beloved music—from variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to his large-scale orchestral pieces. CDP Theatre Producers is Australia’s largest producer of high-quality theatre for young audiences. More

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Direct from Ireland, Dublin Irish Dance is flying high with its brand-new groundbreaking show WINGS: A Celtic Dance Celebration that features dazzling Irish and world champion dancers performing with Ireland’s finest musical and vocal virtuosos. Discover Ireland’s rich heritage in this powerful production featuring original choreography and music, infused with world dance and musical influences. More

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Wisconsin Poet Laureate and Milwaukee’s 2021 Artist of the Year, Dasha Kelly Hamilton is a widely-respected writer, performance artist and creative change agent. In Makin’ Cake, she slices into American history, exploring race, culture and class in a refreshing and fun way. Dessert and dialogue with a cake reception will follow the performance. More

This annual concert features dances by selected JMU dance majors, former JMU dance professor Cynthia Thompson, and CVPA Dean Rubén Graciani, who—in collaboration with The Madison Singers, JMU Chorale, a marimba ensemble and JMU dance students—will premiere Triptych, a fast-moving, three-movement work by Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan (b. 1978). More

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Considered one of the greatest operas of the 17th century, The Coronation of Poppea is Monteverdi’s final masterpiece. Composed in 1642, the Italian opera uses elegantly-crafted music of the Baroque era to paint a portrait of human beings wrestling with the demands of lust, honor, power and rank. Sung in Italian with English subtitles. More

The Wailin’ Jennys are Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Heather Masse,—three female songbirds who thrill audiences with their otherworldly harmonies, sophisticated arrangements, breathtaking songs, and witty stage banter. Their music is a perfect blend of Americana, alt-country, pop, rock, and traditional folk “guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.” (HuffPost) More

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When a scientist gives factory-produced, biological “replicants” the ability to feel pain, everything begins to slip out of the humans’ control. As humans lose the ability to reproduce and the robots become resentful of their position, the survival of humanity and humankind are at stake. R.U.R. gave the world the word “robot” and features students from JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance. More

Experience the JMU Symphony Orchestra as they accompany the winners of the prestigious School of Music Concerto Competition. More

JoWell-known comedian, actor, and mad scientist David Epley is his klutzy yet loveable alter ego Doktor Kaboom—with spiky hair, goofy goggles, and an extravagant German accent—in this riotous romp through an explosive lineup of science experiments that will make you erupt with laughter and bubble over with curiosity. Grab your safety goggles and lab coat for this interactive, family-friendly show. More

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